Overview: CRM shows lists of records in views. Each view has a related query. Users can select a view to use and can sort the records. Admins can create and modify views.
System Views
Created by CRM; Used in specific parts of the application; These views include Advanced Find View, Associated View, Quick Find View, and Lookup View. Each entity has at least one of these.
Can be customized, cannot be deleted; Not available to select by the user (cannot set as default); Cannot be used in sub-grids nor as a list on a dashboard.
Advanced Find View: Used when user clicks Create Personal View and when user chooses the "new" option for Used Saved View in Advanced Find
Associated View: Some entities have more than one; Displayed when user navigates to a list of related records that is displayed in a primary record form; Not used by sub-grids; Can be modified
Quick Find View: Relates to "Search for records" box; Defines columns to display for matching records; This view has view columns and find columns; Also used when searching for a lookup record
Find columns: These columns are used in the search; Can only designate find columns for the main entity (not associated entities); When searching, prefix the search with an asterisk (*) to find columns that contain the entered text (otherwise the search is a begins with search); To set find columns, open the entity definition, go to Views, open the Quick Find view and use the "Add Find Columns" button (then publish). User cannot control (limit) which field is searched with Quick Find (use Advanced Find for this);
For tablets, Quick Find is extended to search up to 10 entities at the same time; Users can specify entities to search;
Lookup View: Used when the user clicks the lookup icon for a lookup field on a form; User can click "Lookup More Records" if needed; User can click "New" button to create a new related record (this opens the Quick Create form if enabled for the entity, otherwise the full New form is displayed). You can modify the fields and filter; Primary field must always be the first column; In a lookup field's properties, you can select a different view to use; Cannot create or delete lookup views
Public Views
When you create an entity, CRM creates a set of public views; You can create additional public views later; These CRM-created views can be modified and deactivated but cannot be deleted
Public views created by a system administrator, customizer or by importing a solution can be modified, deactivated and deleted.
Personal Views
Personal views appear in the My View section in the list of views
User can create a personal view by clicking Create Personal View (bottom of list of views) or via Advanced Find (click Save); Can create a personal view from scratch or from an existing public or personal view
Must share a personal view (to a user or team) for others to see and use it
You cannot convert a personal view to a public view or vice versa.
View Filtering
A view returns a subset of records based on a query (view filter); Displays records from only one entity; Query is stored as FetchXML
Filter criteria can include fields in the entity, fields on the parent record, fields on child records and records associated N:N
View Columns
In a view, can include columns from the main entity and from a primary (parent) entity in a 1:N relationship. Cannot include columns from child entities. Can add/remove columns, set column order, set column width.
No limit to the number of columns to display but only include what's needed to avoid horizontal scrolling and for better performance
A view can be configured to sort by up to 2 columns; User can change sorting; A view cannot be sorted using a field from a parent record.
Creating Custom Views
Users and admins can create and save views of data to help themselves or others list important information quickly. Example: Show only active contacts (clients) who have not been contacted by a sales rep in the past 6 months.
Copy an existing public view: Go to Settings > Solutions. Open the solution, go to the entity, click Views, open the view to copy, use Save As then publish the entity.
New public view: Go to Settings > Solutions. Open the solution, go to the entity, click Views, click New, define filters, columns, and sort order, Save and publish.
Columns: A new view starts with one column -- the primary field for the entity. There is no fixed column limit. Columns use the display name of the field. You can set the size (in pixels) and position of a column.
Sorting: A view can be sorted by up to 2 columns. Cannot sort on fields from a parent entity (e.g., if a view of contacts show the website field of the parent account, you cannot sort by the website).
Default view: The CRM admin or customizer can set a default view for an entity. There can only be one default view. A user can set their own default using the pushpin icon when viewing entity records.
Users can select the view to display from an entity's view/records page. Admins can add views to forms as sub-grids and to dashboards as lists.
Other details about Views
Each users can set an option in CRM for how many records (per page) in a view they would like to see.
Views List example from CRM 2013
Note: Even though the top of the list of views below reads "System Views", the views in the upper section are actually "Public Views". Public and System views are defined above.
Contact Public Views
This gives you an idea of the types of views CRM provides (out of box) for the Contact entity.
Views List example from CRM 2013
Note: Even though the top of the list of views below reads "System Views", the views in the upper section are actually "Public Views". Public and System views are defined above.Contact Public Views
This gives you an idea of the types of views CRM provides (out of box) for the Contact entity.